First day of unemployment

Was, officially, yesterday.

However, I still spent over 6 hours at the office doing the handover and finishing some stuff. Thought today would be the same but in the end I managed to escape, so to speak, a lot earlier and had the first half day of unemployment since October.

And let me tell you, did I enjoy myself or what!

As soon as I left the Swamp (no pun intended, that honestly is the name of the street our office building's at...) I was supposed to go home but somehow my feet took me in the opposite direction and 5 minutes later I arrived in Traffic, a huge bookstore in the city center. Once there, I found "Gorączka" by Tomek Michniewicz, spotted myself a chair and a table and begun my lecture. I must have switched my position like 20 times - the chairs might be comfy if you're going through some magazine for 30 minutes but not when you're so into a book you don't even realise you've been there for hours. More than four hours, actually.

It was a totally blissful afternoon. The bookstore was playing some kick ass music (had to pause reading for a while there when they put Etta James on), the book made me both laugh and cry and I had no office chores to haunt me.

*     *     *     *     *

The last magic week has brought in a lot of unsuspected things. Later, the magic weeks have somehow seemed to be fed up with me 'cause they weren't showing up for a long time. However, I wasn't complaining, as a new category emerged - the magic weekends. Started somewhere in the middle of December to continue all the way to February. Be it Brussels, Wroclaw, Cracow, Dortmund, Warsaw, Florence... Seems like that's as far as they go, though. Don't get me wrong, the last couple of ones weren't bad either (I had time for myself again, and a lot of it) but the magic's not there anymore. Kinda sad.

*     *     *     *     *

At the same time, quite a lot's been going on this past week. 

First off, I put myself through some major emotional rollercoasters and reached some (hopefully) far-streched conlusions that caused quite a lot of confusion, hurt and doubt.

Second off, I finally finished my American visa application, uploaded the world's ugliest application photo, today almost finished the process by setting up a meeting with the Consul for next Tue. All that's left is paying the application submission fee, which is also the most painful part - it's 140$. Oh, and the phone call you have to make in order to schedule that meeting is also around 1.5$/min. No comments to you, U S of A.

I've been carrying around the payment slip in my purse since Monday but something inside has been keeping me from paying it. As soon as I made peace with a couple of things and decided to take certain steps no matter what changes might come around in the coming months, I found out I'm getting some extra cash that I didn't expect and that will cover all the visa related expenses. Not too shabby.

Third off, I got a call from UEFA and I might be one of the funny looking people you see dancing on the stadium grounds for the Championships inauguration.

Forth off, I was supposed to go to a concert tomorrow night which won't happen in the end. Got stuck with two pretty expensive tickets but managed to solve the issue. Adding that to some cash I unexpectedly got yesteday, I immediately thought of a 4day last minute trip but well, that one's not happening either. It would have been a bit of craziness, true - I'd be back in Warsaw on Tue afternoon, in the evening I'd go to a big event and then Wed I'm most probably already leaving for the trip, but I was still willing to go through with it. Maybe some other time.

Fifth off, can't wait to wear the little black dress and the orange heels again. Gentleman Gala - beware!

Sixth off, I don't think I ever mentioned the trip's itinerary? There it is:

Warsaw (hitchhike) Cracow (plane) Budapest (plane) Thessaloniki (hitchhike) Sofia (plane) Dortmund (plane) Łódź (hitchhike) Warsaw

And no, I don't have rich parents, I don't play the lottery. I economise and litteraly every day learn how to get cheap tickets. All the transportation from the above is around 50 EUR.

Also, meeting a certain person last week has changed a lot, at least in the Budapest leg of the trip. Instead of a couch or a mattress for 10 days in Budapest, I'll have 4 nights of hotels in Budapest, 4 nights of hotels by the Balaton lake and 2 nights of a couch or mattress in Budapest (and I'll still end up paying the total of 0$ for accommodation). Life's sometimes cool like that, wouldn't you agree?

Oh, and I got myself a travel partner. A really cool one. Like really really.

Seventh off, I most unexpectedly ended up at a salsa party this week. How I needed it! Didn't dance all that much but the few songs I did gave me so much energy and yes, somehow hope, that it was definitely worth sitting by that table alone.

Eight off, the promising meeting I had on Wed still seems as promising, or even more, now that it's over. I love it how life confirms your choices by throwing new exciting opportunities at your feet.

*     *     *     *     *

Now that I've written it all down - the magic week was back!

I was just too busy being paranoid and too emotional to realise how cool the things happening around were! 

Ha! Makes my Friday evening so much better.

29th of Feb

I was talking to a Latvian friend in the morning, wished her a great day and said that as today happens only once every 4 years, we should make it worth the wait!


Was very proud of myself for being so witty when she simply wrote back: Yes, but shouldn't we make every day worth it? 


So yes, Zane - we definitely should!


That's why I've already had a job interview before work, then came to the office and signed my job contract termination (le sigh) and have a, hopefully, most promising meeting with some great energetic people in a couple of hours. Let's see what comes out of it!


Especially, that the meeting has been organised in really cool circumstances and by a really cool new friend, but more about it later...

"So when will you get a real job?"

Is a question I hate.

A question that makes me laugh.

A question that annoys me as hell.

And, unfortunately, one that I've been encountering many times over. 

Even from the people I thought would know better, from people I would expect more of...

*     *      *      *      *

Quite a while back, I came across a site everyobody looking for alternative ways 'to make it work' comes across - The Art of Non-Confirmity and joined Chris's newsletter. 

I regret to admit I rarely read those, usually storing them in a seperate folder "for later". Today in the morning read one of the first emails I got from him, "The Decision to Be Remarkable" where he describes his experience with the "real job" question. The timing couldn't be more perfect, seeing how I've recently resigned from a "real job" and am, yet again, bending my head backwards over the idea: what next?

Resigning wasn't a decision I made lightly and I'd discussed it with many people, shared my feelings and plans. What do you think, how many times did I hear: But when will you look for a new job? When will you get real?

*     *      *      *      *

Let me share with you what Chris thinks of it, as these are my exact thoughts (allowed myself to stress what I found most important):

Along the way I went back to school to do a graduate program in International Relations, and when I finished, a friend of a friend asked, "So now will you finally go and get a real job?"

Hmmm... It was kind of like they were asking, "Well, Chris, are you ready to grow up now?"
To be honest, my first thought of how to respond to that question was not very nice. I don't have anything against real jobs, but I also have no interest in following a path that I personally find unfulfilling.

Thankfully, turning 30 years old did bring about a certain maturity, even if the desire to be like everyone else has remained elusive. Instead of saying what I first thought, I just said, "Sorry to disappoint you - but I probably won't be getting the kind of job you'd like me to have any time soon."
In other words... "I will not meet those expectations."
(...)

The decision is deceptively simple: begin making your own choices, and stand out from many of the people around you. It's simple because that's really all there is to it -- think for yourself instead of following the crowd, then begin to take actions to align what you do with what you believe.
It's deceptive, however, because whenever you begin to do this, you'll encounter more than your share of opposition from people who want you to do things their way. Some of them will say your ideas or goals are unrealistic. I say, "life is short." Finding a way to do what we want while also helping others is the most important work we can do.

*     *     *     *      *

So, to answer just about everybody (myself included, as I, of course, doubt everything about me and my choices, like way too often):

I don't think I'll be getting a "real job" soon.

:)

Working on that score

Although that ticket's the most expensive I've bought in 2012, it pumps up the score - adds a 3rd new country to the list and closes the flying schedule for March.


And now the hunt down for April may begin. Any suggestions...? :)

Best Internet game ever

Opening travel forums and cheap airlines' search engines to randomly look for flights one could take.


Today's score?


Two one way tickets that will let me travel more than 1000 km for less than the main course I had at a restaurant a couple of nights ago. Puts things into perspective...


March will mean visiting at least two new countries, listening to two languages I don't understand a word of, eating their delicious food, chilling to the interesting music beats, meeting all those amazing people along the way - let the games begin!

And so it's done.

A decision I'd been struggling with for a couple of loooong weeks. 

Making the last step was what I was struggling with, to be more exact, 'cause the decision seems to have been made already in December. It was supposed to be end of April at first, then end of March but a certain week and a couple of uncomfortable situations have helped me fastforward - end of Feb!

And so it's done - I've resigned!

Unemployed in 2,5 weeks -  can't wait!

Back on the road in ...
No, let's keep this one a secret for a little bit longer...

All roads lead to Rome

And hopefully my 2:30pm plane leaves it as well.
Hope to write you from Germany in the evening!

Pizza does taste better in Italy

Even if it's half cold and just a margharita, eaten at 1am during a walk in between cathedrals and churches, it is delicious.
Buena notte Firenze!

Question

What do you go for:

a safe OK

or

a potential awsome / failure and hardship that will follow

?

2011

When 2010 was coming to an end, I wrote it was the best year of my life. It's with great joy and yes, quite a lot of pride, that I can without a doubt state what follows: 2011 was the best year of my life. I truly hope I've created a new pattern right there.

11 words to describe 2011?

People.

Travels.

Food.

Adventure.

Emotions.

Risks taken.

Lessons learnt.

Growing up.

.     .     .     .     .

Last Friday night I went to a birthday meeting of a friend where I met a fellow 'work on yourself to change your life and be happy' believer and practicioner, with whom I had a captivating conversation. When she asked what I did, I said I had just signed a year long contract of employment at a travel agent's earlier that day. I must have seemed not as excited as I 'should' have, because she smiled and said: 'Oh, don't worry - a year will be gone in no time.' at which point I answered that that wasn't even an option.

Letting a year go by? This is so NOT happening!

Later I went for a junior high school reunion and a friend said she didn't like NYE because it meant the year was over, she didn't know what the future will bring and if 2012 won't be worse than the previous one. Seriously? A beautiful girl, graduating two schools she seems to be enjoying, with a guy she seems to be very happy with, doing things she loves and she doesn't want the New Year to come 'cause it might be worse? Why the heck should it? Isn't it better to look at it that way: I don't know what 2012 will bring - what exciting opportunities, people and encounters? With all I already have and know, it can't be anything but great!

Saturday morning I was taking an early train to Cracow, where I was spending my NYE, and all I could hear was people saying how quickly 2011 had passed, how little time it seemed. I was listening to them thinking how sad that was and wanting to scream in their faces: CHANGE IT! If you don't even realise when your time's gone, it basically means you've wasted it. When I look back at this year it feels like an eternity. India? Spain? Heck, even Iceland seems so long ago and it's been only 4 months or so!

.     .     .     .     .

I cannot and will not say I'm sad to see 2011 go because honestly, it just doesn't matter what digits we try to fit time into. We already know all too well how an hour while having fun with friends and the same 60 minutes when waiting for your exam's results are somehow totally different periods of time. What matters is how much use we make of whatever time we have. Oh, and please remember - everyone has the same 'amount of time'! (The constant: 'I wish I had as much time as you do' lines I hear from people) It's what and how we do it that makes the difference and has the power to change the year some have not even noticed into what feels like a decade to others.

January - still accommodating in India, although already having my own friends and spots in Btown; sunbathing in Goa while friends hate my guts and freeze their buttocks off back in Europe; attending my first Indian wedding and being told 'I'm too Indian to be true'; realising I shouldn't force things in life; malaria alert.

February - partying like crazy; discovering the world of Btown's salsa lovers; the last fairytale wedding; acting irresponsible and paying in bad conscious but being rewarded with one of the most surreal weeks I could imagine.

March - coming back to Poland, seeing two best friends on the very same day I arrived in Warsaw and after a half an hour chat feeling as if I'd never left, as if India were just some distant dream; attending TEDxWarsaw, learning the power of networking and meeting two people I call good friends now; for the first time in my life having this inexplicable feeling of missing something I'd never seen, a place I'd never been to before - it's time to hit the South of Spain!

April - discovering and falling in love with Andalucia; going to Granada for 3-4 days and staying 2 weeks; watching Semana Santa processions and spending Easter time with an Andalusian family in Jaen; coming back to Poland to celebrate my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary (granny and grandad for the win!)

May - taking a job offer and learning as much as I possibly could, seeing how I worked there only for around 7 weeks; socializing, meeting a lot of people but also learning the dark, well hidden part of others - am most grateful for both types of encounters.

June - quitting the job; buying tickets to Iceland to join Antoine on his trip through the island; winning $ in a contest on fb; a crazy 4 day-hitch-hiking-sleeping-on-the-beach-spend-30EUR-on-one-meal trip to Sicily with Paulina and her friends; taking a bus to Berlin only to hitch hike to Denmark with Chloe on the very next day and volonteer as a member of the Esperanto group at Roskilde Festival - so last minute and so many new experiences!; meeting people from all paths of life and learning new lifestyles; going back to Berlin.

July - my first solo hitch-hiking trip to Berlin and seeing a small fraction of the crazy art hapenning in the city; gathering all the gear needed for my next adventure; setting off for London, hitching a ride with a Polish guy who later becomes my 'private shuttle bus' of a kind; seeing Zosia, Marta and Nahum, feeling so proud of where they've come and what they've achieved.

August - finally, after all those years, Iceland!; meeting Antoine after almost 2 years and travelling around, which I won't even attempt to describe unless I've a couple of hours of spare time: clifs, fjords, volcanos, lava, horseback riding, hikes, getting shut off in a shelter, diving in between tectonic plates, soup eating on a glacier; getting my first interview published online.

September - meeting Paula in Montpellier and starting our 'Flowery South of France' trip ending on Costa Brava; no words for how much generosity and selflesness we experienced, how much fun we had in those beautiful southern towns: hitch-hiking, sharing all the pastries local pâtisseries had to offer, honey making, meeting Michał and Ewelina, sleeping in the dunes, making pierogi out of 2kg of flour, crazy ride with the Spanish to Barcelona; my only unfortunate CS experience till date; baking cookies in a villa overlooking the hills of Costa Brava and taking them over as the Bee to the neighbours to apologize for the loud music at nights; hitch-hiking in the middle of a freaking highway in Poznań and praying for my life; a birthday party in my summer house and getting ready for uni - yes, I was about to get my student ID again!

October  - starting university only to drop out after 3 days and get offered a job a week later which won over the project of taking a travel guide course; helping out at Centrum Studiów Polska Azja conference; first business trip ever, first contacts made during travel fairs in Poznań; filling in for a friend during her dance class and finding out women loved my teaching.

November - moving out of my parents' place; a major breakthrough comes when I decide to try teaching dance (been offered to do on that some occasions before but always thought too little of my skills to agree) and organize my first workshops, which I believe were quite a success; getting a bit too busy at work at times; the first pre-planned leave - buying a ticket to Brussels for a couple of days (which now in perspective might be a lot more important than I'd have imagined) experiencing my peoples' sense of 'patriotism' on the Independence Day; taking up the sweater challenge (ummm let's get back to it some other time:P); socializing a lot lot.

December - now that was a month! magic weeks almost all month long; meaningful meetings; amazing conversations; creativity; the trip to Brussels that was so many things; skype addiction confirmed; the most amazing Christmas ever; an amazing NYE weekend and a start of craziness that, it seems, will be continued, and how!, in 2012.

Pfffew, it took me forever to even write those highlights down, not to mention actually living all those things!

And how was your 2011?